New conspiracism uniquely harms democracy through both delegitimation and disorientation

Evidence

The most striking feature of the new conspiracism is just this—its assault on reality. The new conspiracism strikes at what we think of as truth and the grounds of truth. It strikes at what it means to know something. The new conspiracism seeks to replace evidence, argument, and shared grounds of understanding with convoluted conjurings and bare assertions. Among the threats to democracy, only the new conspiracism does double damage: delegitimation and disorientation. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 32

Categorization

• DEFINE: This is the book’s core conceptual claim distinguishing ‘new conspiracism’ from classic conspiracy theory: an assault on the very grounds of truth rather than a rival account of hidden truth.
• XREF: connects to: New conspiracism abandons explanatory theory and targets democratic legitimacy — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 11; Only new conspiracism causes both delegitimation and disorientation simultaneously; New conspiracism dissolves shared perceptions of political reality — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 373 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• New conspiracism dissolves shared perceptions of political reality #expands (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 373
• A new conspiracism form drops explanation and aims at disorientation. #expands (0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 49
• Only new conspiracism causes both delegitimation and disorientation simultaneously #qualifies (0.80)